Allen Hutt

George Allen Hutt (20 September 1901 – 10 August 1973)[1] was a British journalist, editor, newspaper designer and Communist and trade union activist.[2][1]

Life

Hutt came from a family of printers, while his mother Marion was a headmistress.[3][4] He attended Kilburn Grammar School and then Downing College, Cambridge, graduating with a first-class honours degree in history in 1923.[1][2][3][4]

As a young man Hutt became a convinced communist and member of the Communist Party of Great Britain.[2][5] After beginning a career as a writer and journalist, he became an expert on newspaper production, frequently advising newspapers on their design.[2][6] His clients included The Guardian and Reynold's News.[7][8] He was also newspaper consultant to the typesetting machine company Monotype.[2] He wrote many reviews and books, including The Post-war History Of The British Working Class (1937)[9] and British Trade Unionism (1941).[10]

Hutt was active in the National Union of Journalists for many years. He was longtime editor of the union's journal, The Journalist, and was the union's president in the year 1967.[2][4]

His book Newspaper Design (1960, revised 1967)[11] was very successful. Conservative journalist Arthur Christiansen, whose work was praised in the text, described it as "a prodigious service to journalism" and "destined to be a standard work for years".[12][4] After his death an updated edition was written by Bob James.[13]

At the time of Hutt's retirement in 1966 he was chief sub-editor of the Daily Worker,[14][4] but he continued working as a freelance consultant.[3][15][4] He was named a Royal Designer for Industry in 1970.[16][4]

Family

Hutt's son Sam Hutt (born 1940) is a gynaecologist, but is better known as a country and western singer-songwriter and television presenter under the stage name Hank Wangford.[17][18]

Allen Hutt later married Avis Hutt (née Askey, formerly Clarke), a nurse and health visitor who was the widow of communist surgeon Ruscoe Clarke.[19][20][21][22]

Collections of Hutt's personal papers are held by Cambridge University Library, Miyazaki University and the People's History Museum.[23] As a communist activist, the Metropolitan Police held a file of cuttings on Hutt's work, which has been released under Freedom of Information law.[4]

References
  1. Morgan, Kevin (23 September 2004). "Hutt, (George) Allen (1901–1973), journalist and political activist". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 1 (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/67331. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  2. Pimlott, Herbert (February 2013). "The Radical Type? G. Allen Hutt, the Communist Party and the politics of journalistic practice". Journalism Practice. 7 (1): 81–95. doi:10.1080/17512786.2012.685556. S2CID 142731478.
  3. "President". Willesden & Brent Chronicle. 28 April 1967.
  4. "Freedom of Information Request". Metropolitan Police. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. Bragg, Melvyn. "Miners in the Depression: Coal and Dole". BBC. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  6. Avis, Peter. "Stanley Harrison". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  7. "Guardian Design Timeline". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  8. Hutt, Allen (1970). "Times Roman: a re-assessment". Journal of Typographic Research. 4 (3). Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 5 March 2017.
  9. Hutt, Allen (1937). The Post-war History Of The British Working Class. London: Victor Gollancz. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  10. British Trade Unionism: An Outline History (2 ed.). London: Lawrence & Wishart. 1942. Retrieved 2 September 2021.
  11. Hutt, Allen (1960). Newspaper Design. Oxford University Press.
  12. "Hutt's Book-by Christiansen". Daily Worker. 7 December 1960.
  13. Hutt, Allen; James, Bob (1989). Newspaper design today: a manual for professionals (First ed.). London. ISBN 9780853315339. Retrieved 27 August 2021.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  14. "Mr. Allen Hutt Retires". The Times. 20 April 1966.
  15. "Hutt Leaves 'Worker'". The Guardian. 18 April 1966.
  16. Morning Star Reporter (1970). "Allen Hutt joins Royal Designers". Morning Star.
  17. Stevenson, Graham. "Encyclopedia of Communist Biographies: Hutt Alan". Graham Stevenson. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  18. "Biography: Hank Wangford & the Lost Cowboys". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  19. "Avis Hutt: nurse and peace campaigner". The Times. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  20. Cadd, Frances (2020). "Avis Hutt: Nursing London's East End through the 1930s". The UKAHN Bulletin. 8 (1). Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  21. Stevenson, Graham. "Encyclopedia of Communist Biographies: Clarke Ruscoe". Graham Stevenson. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  22. Stevenson, Graham. "Encyclopedia of Communist Biographies: Hutt Avis". Graham Stevenson. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
  23. "Papers of Allen Hutt". Cambridge University Library. Retrieved 27 August 2021.
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